


drabbles for deltacrow

by brightclam



Series: domestic yugioh [5]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 12:10:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14308344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightclam/pseuds/brightclam
Summary: small bits of canon inspired by deltacrow's comments on my earlier fics in this universe.chapter 1: mai fights a toaster





	drabbles for deltacrow

**Author's Note:**

> this is the beginning of a set of drabbes that all fit into my canon but also will probably never become something coherent lol
> 
> huge thanks to delta crow for inspiring these and for like my fics so much! here's what I'm working off of:  
> {I need to know, now, how much fucking space everyone takes up. Does anybody work in the game shop as like, rent repayment. Who fixes the appliances. What exactly does Solomon think about all these teens living in his house, existing in various convoluted relationships. Who cooks, who budgets, do Ryou & Bakura ever get talked into hosting a friendly and non-murdery d&d night at the game shop. Please I'm dying I want to know as much abt this household as you're willing to tell me.}
> 
> also unfriendly reminder that in my work everyone is trans and gay so if you don't like that, go away. Also these characters are kids so don't come on my fic saying or thinking anything nasty. I don't want any of that shit near me or my work

\-----

Mai jolts awake, her body aching from falling asleep on the blanket covered but still uncomfortable floor. Last night, getting up and driving home hadn’t seemed worth it, but back disagrees now. As she sits up her spine cracks horrendously loud, making her flinch. Her joints never used to do that, she must be getting old!

 

The sound that woke her continues: a loud, irregular banging. She presses a hand to her forehead, the noise quickly causing a headache. To add insult to injury, a  
terrible burning smell is now invading her nose. She’s annoyed and curious enough to leave her nest of blankets and stumble downstairs.

 

The kitchen is sunlit in a way that would be beautiful if it wasn’t also filling with a thick, black smoke. As she enters, she watches Kaiba’s lanky form take another swing at the sparking toaster that’s thrashing on the counter. Atem is hiding behind his boyfriend; he dislikes modern appliances at the best of times, but he obviously likes them even less when they start spewing black smoke.

 

Mai can’t help but laugh at the scene; Kaiba as a nerd of a knight, armed only with a kitchen ladle. Atem as an princess dressed in elegant pajamas accompanied by fuzzy bunny slippers. The terrifying dragon of a malfunctioning toaster, menacing the pair. But she quickly is spurred into motion by the sight of the smoke pooling around the smoke detector on the ceiling. She’s shocked it hasn’t gone off yet, but she’d still like to avoid a fire alarm if possible.

 

She strides past the cowering pair, swatting at Kaiba’s outstretched arm that’s leveling the ladle at the toaster.

 

“Put that thing down, Kaiba!”

 

He huffs at her but lowers it; meanwhile, Atem looks at her worriedly.

 

“Mai, it’s sparking! Don’t get close to it!”

 

Mai, though touched by his concern, ignores him. She heads straight for the toaster and with a quick grab, yanks the cord out of the wall. The toaster immediately cuts off, leaving only a thin trail of smoke rising. Mai gives it a minute to cool down before carefully peering into the slot; an intensely charred piece of toast stares forlornly back at her.

 

Behind her, Kaiba sighs and speaks prissily:

 

“I am afraid I will have to buy you a new toaster, Beloved. I apologize; I had only intended to make you breakfast.”

 

Atem responds, his voice sappy and love filled:

 

“It is alright, Beloved. I appreciate the effort.”

 

Mai snickers at them and waves the clouds of smoke away from her face before turning back to them.

 

“It’s not even broken, silly. You just got the bread stuck and it started to burn. I’ve fixed much worse than this.”

 

Kaiba face does something complicated; as if he knows there was an insult buried somewhere in there but can’t find it. Mai grins at him, sharp as razor blade. He glares back, acid in his stare. They’re too caustic to fit, like chemicals that react and explode when brought together. Fortunately, they both love their friends too much to fight, and it smooths over their sharp edges.

 

Mai leaves the toaster on the counter like a beached whale, a small note that she’ll fix it later taped to it’s side. Kaiba settles back down at the table to salvage their breakfast while Atem opens a window to fan the smoke out of. Mai grins and flips her hair over her shoulder as she leaves, content in knowing that she’d saved them from the terror that was the toaster.

 

As she strides down the hall, she sees sleepy heads stuck out of their room blink at her. She reassures them that everything’s okay---deciding to wait to tell the story of Kaiba’s embarrassment later when they can fully appreciate it---and watches them shuffle back into their rooms. She doesn’t have the luxury of doing the same; she changes into the set of work clothes she keeps hanging in Tea’s closet and grabs her purse before heading out the door.

 

She’s in undergraduate school, heading for a law degree, and had been fortunate enough to land an internship at an prominent firm in town. It’s boring work; shredding and filing paperwork mostly, but she’s building important connections. As she pushes out of the apartment’s side door, she sees Mr. Mutou sweeping the sidewalk outside his storefront. She waves, and he waves cheerily back.

 

Mr. Mutou is truly extraordinary; he’s very understanding and kind hearted, which helps when his grandson somehow collected an entire herd of people that wanted to live with him. Mr. Mutou seems to have halfway adopted all of the younger ones, and treats Mai like a part of the family as well. She’s too old to be treated like a grandchild like the rest of them, but they have an understanding that she’s working to care for and protect for the kids the same way he is.

 

She keeps things inside the apartment running smoothly, buying groceries and taking the kids to appointments when they can’t get there themselves. She’s also has a well of knowledge that they lack; she knows how much soap to put in the dishwasher, how to coach the crotchety old vacuum into working a little longer, and apparently how to fight off toasters. 

 

She’d call herself an older sister; she’s friends with them, but also a caretaker. They’re learning from her and slowly becoming more independent, which makes her endlessly proud. It also makes her feel less guilty about going apartment hunting with Ishizu; she knows they won’t be helplessly lost when she isn’t there all the time. And they’ll still have Mr. Mutou, who does most of the heavy lifting. He still does the budgeting and the taxes, which must be an absolute nightmare. Mai doubts having this many people in an apartment is even legal, but technically most of them live elsewhere and are just in the apartment all the time.

 

He’s still intricately intertwined in their lives as well; he joins them for dinner often, and can be found giving advice to anyone who needs it. He’s still trying to get Joey to actually wash the dishes after he cooks, but Mai doubts he’ll manage it. It’s easy to forget that underneath all the magic and ghosts and trauma these kids are still just high schoolers, as irresponsible and young as any other.

 

She shakes her head and continues towards her car. She intends to be in their lives as long as they want her around, and she can’t wait to see what they mature into.

\------

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine, despite seto being very good at surviving on his own, he's probably still a rich boy who doesn't know how to work a kitchen


End file.
